My Plan for MLH Prime: Spring Finale 2016

Productivity is a huge part of everyone’s life, and I know that I strive to make every day more productive than the last. I try to use the 24 hours that I have in the most effective and efficient way possible, and when I feel that I have accomplished that, I am happy. However, with the vast number of distractions available online today, I often struggle to get things done in a timely manner. I have downloaded countless productivity apps, from to-do lists to timers, to even rewarding myself with food or a new episode of a show. However, these tactics always seem to fail me, sooner or later. The to-do lists bore me, and they end up unused after a few weeks at the most. I find myself scrambling to finish the tasks I had yet to check off right before midnight, and the quality of the output is significantly decreased. Timers make me feel like I’m not in control, and my bathroom breaks are mandated by an app on my phone. Tangible rewards sometimes end up lasting longer than I expect them to last, and I end up not finishing what I set out to do.

At MLH Prime, I will work together with others to create an application that makes the tasks of life fun and satisfying. Users would each have personalized characters, with health, hunger, and experience. Health would have questions pop up every once in awhile that the users should ask themselves to “check up” — “Are you feeling happy and in control?” “Have you thought about the things you are grateful for?” — based on the answer (yes or no), the character’s health would increase, decrease, or stay the same. Hunger changes when users complete the “short-term” goals that they set for themselves, while experience changes as long-term goals are met. As experience is gained, more features would be unlocked, such as new clothing or a new app theme. Another possibility would be having a community forum where people can post inspirational experiences and ways to boost productivity.

The difference between this app and other on the market is that the task of being productive is made into a game. Users will enjoy creating their character and feeding its health, hunger, and experience bars. They will be able to trade in XP or currency for different visual rewards, and users will not get distracted, as there are no black holes (which I always find myself sucked into after a single news article or infographic) in the app.

Overall, this app would be an incredible asset to anyone seeking a productivity boost. With more minds in the game, this dream could be a reality at MLH Prime.

Thank you for your time -

Stephanie Fu